Attorney Genevieve Zimmerman secured an $18,468,074.36 jury verdict in a product liability case involving a defective 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The plaintiff had stopped at a gas station and believed he had placed his vehicle in park before stepping out. Instead, the vehicle rolled backward, running over him and causing catastrophic injuries to his left leg that ultimately led to an amputation.
The case centered on Chrysler’s monostable gear shifter, a design that had been linked to confusion about whether a vehicle was actually in park. Evidence showed the design’s safety risks were known before the vehicle went into production, and more than 800,000 vehicles were recalled just two years later. The plaintiff never received notice of the recall.
After approximately six hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found that the vehicle was defectively designed and that FCA US LLC failed to adequately warn drivers about the danger.